❝This week two marijuana analysis and investment firms released a summary of a report that appeared to confirm that the industry has become a gold rush. National legal sales of cannabis grew to $5.4 billion in 2015, up from $4.6 billion in 2014, according to the firms, the ArcView Group, based in San Francisco, and New Frontier, based in Washington.
Demand is expected to remain strong this year, with a forecast of $6.7 billion in legal sales…
❝The promises and headwinds of the industry are potentially far-reaching and attracting notice on Wall Street. As more states legalize marijuana sales, analysts are weighing the stock market benefits of new businesses as cannabis goes corporate. Funds are considering the ethics of investing in marijuana. Parents are even debating whether to allow their children to buy the stocks.
And say goodbye to the common resealable bags and heat lamps in the closet. Lucrative legal side businesses are spinning off, like the climate systems for growers built by a company in Boulder, Colo., and the FunkSac odor-proof and child-resistant marijuana bags produced in Denver…
The report summary said that by 2020, legal market sales were forecast to be $21.8 billion…
❝Four states and the District of Columbia allow full adult use, and this year, seven more will vote on allowing it: California, Nevada, Arizona, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Twenty-three states already permit medical cannabis use, and four others — Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Pennsylvania — are positioned to advance medical laws…
❝Legalization is also a hot topic of national debate, making the industry vulnerable in an election year.
Given that the ranking indoor sport in the United States is hypocrisy – followed by ignorance – that’s an understatement.
I live in one of the states with medical marijuana regs. They’ve functioned well until we acquired a Republican governor. Governor Susana does her “best” to screw medical consumers of weed. Our state legislature is in session doing their level best to ignore public polls which show support for legal weed in the 60-70% range. I sincerely doubt if any legislation allowing a state referendum on legal weed will somehow squeeze through.
And then there’s Congress, Congressional Republicans – and Congressional Democrats often as cowardly on questions like these as Republicans are backwards.
Keep on rocking in the Free World, folks.
Eideard 
Kosher marijuana now available in New York http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/live-news/2016/2/kosher-and-medical-marijuana-now-available-in-new-york.html
“As sales boom, pot shops have become the new face of gentrification” http://grist.org/cities/as-sales-boom-pot-shops-have-become-the-new-face-of-gentrification/
Licensed and regulated marijuana stores in Colorado sold $996,184,788 worth of recreational and medical cannabis in 2015, according to new data from the state Department of Revenue. http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/02/09/colorado-marijuana-sales-2015-reach-996-million/47886/
A medical marijuana dispensary in New Mexico has been fined for safety violations after an explosion badly burned two workers.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration spent about eight months investigating the July 23 explosion and found a total of 12 serious health and safety violations.
OSHA has ordered New MexiCann Natural Medicine to pay several fines totaling $13,500. Online records show that inspectors verified in January that there were no continuing hazards.
The explosion happened while the two workers were making hash oil, a process that involves soaking marijuana in butane. A report from the Santa Fe Fire Department says the blast was caused when a butane leak met with an ignition source.
http://krqe.com/2016/03/16/osha-fines-santa-fe-pot-business-for-july-explosion/